no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government

Independence date

1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)

Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia

Area

7,741,220 km sq

637,657 km sq

Coastline

25,760 km

3,025 km

Climate

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons